Short, spiky-haired and Green, German Consumer and Agriculture Minister Renate Künast is everything her predecessor was not.

Following an outbreak of mad cow disease in Germany in late 2000, Karl-Heinz Funke, Germany’s pro-farm agriculture minister resigned his post as part of a government shake-up. In his place came Künast, a former social worker and Green Party loyalist who admitted from the word go that she had absolutely no idea about agricultural policy. But she was willing to learn.

And learn she did.

Within a short year, the outspoken Künast has emerged as one of the leading voices for farming reform in Europe. Her emphasis on organic products, less-intensive farming and more rural development has won her praise in Brussels and like-minded European capitals.

She has come out against the large-scale, mechanized farming that harms animals and product quality and is practiced by most of Europe’s farming community. Instead, she emphasized after starting her job in January 2001, farmers should put their faith in organic farming.

She announced she planned to expand the amount of organic farming in Germany from 3 percent to 20 percent within the next ten years. Consumers, she believed, would be willing to pay higher prices for healthier food.

The proposals made sense at a time when German farming was suffering under the affects of Mad Cow disease (BSE) and, later, foot-and-mouth disease.

A one-sided policy

But critics called her policy too one-sided. Putting a large portion of Germany’s farming future in organic farming, was a mistake. Recent developments seem to have given that argument credence.

Germany is suffering under an organic farming scandal following the delivery of some 500 tons of feed containing the banned herbicide Nitrofen to the country’s organic farms. Stores have already pulled scores of beef, poultry and pork products off their shelves with more likely to follow.

Künast and her ministry have come under attack following revelations that the ministry was aware of the existence of the feed as early as two months ago. Opposition parties have torched the anti-organic argument once again and Künast’s former critics within her own government coalition have begun piping up.

How to go on?

The revelations are a blow to Künast’s reform plans. But it is still too early to tell if it will be a blow to the minister herself. So far, no one has been clamoring for her removal.

That may have to do with the fact that opposition parties and Chancellor challenger Edmund Stoiber feel confident of victory in September’s election.

And if that turns out to be true, then Künast's efforts will most likely have been in vain anyway.